My Story... what's yours?

While people including myself have referenced their personal stories about Cakewalk/Sonar, the focus has been on what to do next, but I think it would be fun to share our Cakewalk stories.   I'll start, but I know I'm not alone.  This news of Sonar going away has hit me on several personal levels, no matter which hat I'm wearing...  someone mentions music and I'm down the rabbit hole of disgust.
 
Honestly, I'm still in shock.  To make matters worse I'm in the middle of re-building my studio so I can finally complete my own albums (I was busy doing other peoples stuff and let mine slide... then we moved across the country... bought a catering company...  insert more excuses....)  So I finally decide, IT's TIME.... I build a new workstation, get a Line 6 Helix, I'm practicing again... my OWN music..  I'm looking up musicians for the parts I can't remember how to play.... then the tool that I literally have 1000's of hours on....   may go bye bye.    I realize that's down the road.. but I'm just pissed.  There are enough companies and products failing...  they don't need to kill off other ones for literally no reason other than laziness.   I can't imagine how the folks in Boston feel.  

Sorry for the rant, but as I was comparing the available software out there...  it's more than standard features.  I have sheet music in Sonar, templates, and notes for my gear, not to mention CAL'S !!!!  I haven't seen anyone really talk about CALS !!!!!!   Ya see I started out in MIDI on the Commodore 64 and using the C-64, actually a few of them for sequencers and synths.  Cakewalk for DOS was my second MIDI sequencer.  I imported everything and never looked back or at anything else.  I didn't get involved with audio until it moved a couple of versions into Windows.   Hurumph...  When we played, we played with backing tracks in Cakewalk to enhance the performance, and it even switched my effects for me.  I had CAL's for making drums "real" sounding and we actually did a few gigs with Cakewalk as the drummer, and stage tech too (switching effects, amps, etc..).  

Later in the 2000's I attended the NAMM convention a few times... got to see new releases, learn shortcuts..  Sonar in all it's versions was the heart of my studio.   When I think of all the presets I created in plug-ins and effects..  I'm feeling somewhat overwhelmed with the idea of not just re-inventing the wheel, but building a whole new mode of transportation from scratch that already knows all the places I go and the best ways to get there.
 
Anyway... that's my story, thanks for letting me share.   My name is Miles and I use Sonar.  
 

Cactus Music
Well, I'm game. Got a cold and stuck inside.....

WOW You really sparked some memories for me.  I guess I lucked out early on as I had a Casio MG-510 and also some MIDI controllers so I would just play the parts into Cakewalk as MIDI, then as I recall I'd use Quantize and CAL's I wrote to initial clean them up, and then go in and edit.  The MG-510 is probably one of the few guitars that is really on my "what was I thinking when I sold that" list.  It was my main axe even then no MIDI was involved as it was a great super-strat.  It tracked pretty well compared to what was available back in the day.

For drums I got sneaky too.  I had an early Tama MIDI kit I re-built with all new piezo transducers that I shopped and shopped for until I got ones that had the most dynamic range.  Hooked through a DM-5 (I think), and while I have some drum experience, over the years I had competent drummers just lay down MIDI tracks for me.  My own custom midi Library.  

And also like you, every song was saved as MIDI, or had MIDI.  I still do this today, especially with my own tunes.  I've always hated listening to click tracks, so I put in simple drum parts initially.  Which reminds me that any new software wouldn't have all the cueing and song info on each track.  I think I may have taken the "Insert Marker" tool a little too far over the years.  
 
I too went pro (opened a real studio) in 1999.  We bought a house with the sole purpose of putting a full recording studio in the basement and I did.  It was somewhat a proof of concept as the plan was to move out west at some point which we did in 2006.   I had project studios before that, but starting in 2002, I was picking up clients and it was a lot of fun.  My music took a back seat, but I lived in Sonar.  
 
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.  I forgot how much I had forgot.